Northside Festival - The under-appreciated (Day 3 Recap)

Northside Festival | Day 3 | June 13, 2009



With shows going on from afternoon to well into night, Saturday was clearly the big day for the Northside Festival. Maybe it was because there was just more going on or maybe it was because I just happened to pick some not-so-popular acts to catch, but I ended up feeling the night's theme seemed to be a sparse crowd attending a show from a great band.

Shellshag:


First up was an early afternoon set from Shellshag at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Okay, who goes out to a show at 1PM? Even on a Saturday during a fetival like Northside? Quite a shame as the DIY duo sounded amazing on the larger sound system of the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The Extraordinaires:


I wish I could've stayed for O'Death at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, but got hungry and grabbed some BBQ at the Big Apple BBQ Fest. However, I was able to catch a little bit of The Extraordinaires at Music Hall as well as a glimpse of pow wow! at Spike Hill on my way to the L Train.

pow wow!:


When I got back to Brooklyn, I stopped by Hooves on the Turf's showcase at Trophy Bar, where Drink Up Buttercup were playing much later than their scheduled time. This was actually a pretty packed show, and the band were definitely deserving of the crowd!

Drink Up Buttercup:


Sharon Van Etten ended my experience with the afternoon portion of the Northside Festival on Saturday. She played right after Drink Up Buttercup at the Trophy Bar. A beautiful songwriter with a beautiful voice was the perfect end to the daytime hours.

Sharon Van Etten:


I was hoping to catch a bit of the show at Death by Audio, which was supposed to start at 7. However, the first band dropped, and the show's start time was pushed back to 8:30. So instead I went to Public Assembly to see a band that my friend promised me I'd love, Weekends.

Weekends:


Once again, the early bands at Public Assembly were playing to a sparse audience. It could be that Sound Fix (who booked the evening) had an intention of putting on a diverse night, which didn't encourage people to come out early. Another odd result of this was a bizarre transition from the energetic punk of Weekends to a performance art piece by Old Time Relijun's Arrington De Dionyso.

Arrington De Dionyso:


Okay, then I trekked all the way up the Red Star Bar in Greenpoint, which is where things got weird. First off, the venue was double booked, so the first (non-Northside Festival) show ended around when I got there. I'm not going to call them out by name, but they sounded very Nickelback-esque. They were singing a song with a chorus that rang out, "Even God loves bitches and booze," and finished their set with a cover of Rush. Yikes.

The Shivers:


I was very grateful when The Shivers came on, saving me from the nightmare of the previous band. I was glad to be back listening to a band playing Northside Festival, even if the schedule was running a little late.

NT:


Mixing live drums and guitar with a backing track, NT came on next at the same bar. I would've liked to have heard the laptop pumping a bit more out of the system, but otherwise, I dug it. NT ended up being the highlight of the night.

Post Honeymoon:


Post Honeymoon was the final act I caught on Saturday (technically Sunday morning, I suppose, as it was after midnight). The ex-Bang! Bang! members didn't disappoint, though the Red star Bar's location kept too much of a crowd from seeing them, NT, and The Shivers. Northside Festival badgeholders cramming into other shows simply didn't know what they were missing!